Multiple Products on Rates
Add more than one default product to a production rate and set the number of coats for each product.
Important Information:
This feature is in active development. You may encounter bugs or missing functionality as we improve the experience.
You can enable this feature by going to Account Settings > Beta Features section
Please send questions or feedback to product@paintscout.com.
By default, a production rate uses one product. Multiple Products lets you add more than one default product to a single rate instead, so a rate like "Walls" can automatically include both a primer and a topcoat, for example. You can also set a different number of coats for each product on the rate.
This guide covers how to set it up from scratch, and how it carries through to your estimates. If you've used Multiple Products before, the coats and swapping behavior described below is new, see the note near the bottom for what's changed.
Why this is useful
A common setup is a primer plus a topcoat on the same rate. The primer usually only goes on once, no matter what, while the topcoat follows however many coats you've set for that rate, 2, 3, sometimes more. Without setting up multiple products, you'd need to add these as separate line items or handle it manually. With multiple products on one rate, both are built in, and each one can follow its own rules.
Adding products to a production rate
Go to your production rate in Settings, and find the Default Products section.
For each product row, you'll see:
Name: pick the product from the dropdown.
Coverage (sqft/gal): you can override the product's default coverage here.
# Coats: choose how many coats this specific product should use (see below).
Click + Add Product to add another product to the same rate. Each product row is independent, with its own name, coverage, and coat count.
Choosing coats per product
Each product's # Coats dropdown gives you two ways to set it:
Use rate default: this product's coat count always matches whatever the rate itself is set to. If you change the rate from 2 coats to 3, this product updates automatically, no need to touch it.
A fixed number (1, 2, 3, or 4 coats): this product always uses that exact number, no matter what the rate's overall coat count is set to.
Example: on a Walls rate, you might set your primer to a fixed 1 coat, since primer rarely needs more than one pass, while your topcoat stays on Use rate default, so it automatically follows however many coats you set on the rate for that job.
How this shows up on an estimate
When you build an estimate and use a rate with multiple default products, each product on that rate shows its own # Coats dropdown right there in the estimate.
It starts out matching whatever you set in your rate's settings.
You can change it for this one estimate without affecting your saved rate settings anywhere else.
If a product is set to Use rate default, it stays connected to the rate's coat count for that estimate too. So if you bump the rate from 2 coats to 3 while building the estimate, any product still set to "Use rate default" updates right along with it. Products set to a fixed number stay put.
What happens to your existing rates
If you already had multiple products set up on a rate before this update, nothing changes automatically. Every existing product on your rates has been set to Use rate default, which is exactly how they already behaved, so your estimates will look and calculate the same as before. From here, it's up to you to switch any product to a fixed coat count if you want it to stop following the rate.
Quick tips
Use Use rate default for products that should scale with the job, like a topcoat that varies by how many coats a customer wants.
Use a fixed number for products that should always stay the same, like a single-coat primer or a specialty product that never changes regardless of the rate.
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For questions, issues, or feedback, email product@paintscout.com.
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